Today we speak with Patti Tritschler of Interior Image Group as part of our series focusing on the hospitality designers, architects and purchasing pros that are part of HI Connect® Design 2013.

We’re getting ready for our BIG event HI Connect® Design coming this April 10-12, 2013 at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN and it promises to be the most exciting event ever to hit the hospitality industry.

We’ve got dozens of built out fully constructed out vignettes created by the vision of leading hospitality designers, architects and purchasing pros. And those in attendance will get to step into their master creations, get a tour and see products in the content in which they belong; in a real hotel environment!

HI Connect® Design offers attendees an incredible opportunity to view, first hand, original concepts designed by industry designers and purchasing companies in collaboration with suppliers shown in context within a real environment of a guest room, bathroom, and public spaces such as Bar/Lounge, Spa/Fitness to name a few. This is a truly the most collaborative effort ever at any hospitality event.

As part of our countdown to HI Connect® 2013 we’re interviewing the people that are bringing their creative vision to life. Read the story, or for a more fully in-depth interview listen to her story by clicking the link below.

For today’s interview we have with Patti Tritschler of Interior Image Group who is creating the Conciere Lounge during the three days of HI Connect® Design.

Glenn Haussman: I feel like design has really matured a lot in the last five years or so. How are you seeing things?

Patti Tritschler: Oh, definitely. I think the digital world has landed into the interior design arena very strong and it’s not going away. Everyone’s anticipation to be able to see space before it’s constructed, whether it’s a renovation or new construction, by providing sketch-up renderings, it’s just part of our schematic design now and we all want to see what things are going to look like before we really start building them.

Glenn Haussman: That’s pretty interesting and I hadn’t really thought about that – that you actually can visualize it in like almost a wholly realized form these days, right?

Patti Tritschler: Correct. Basically, once you have the dimensions of a space, if it’s in an Auto Cad format or we draw those walls, we can actually apply all the, you know, suggested finishes that we have for the space, whether it’s featuring a, you know, a very intricate tile pattern or if we’re going to communicate color by wall coverings and paint. We can transform that block of space into that actual environment that the guests or management, hotel groups would want to see before they share in pursuing that architectural design build relationship.

Glenn Haussman: It’s a great way to get everybody to buy in on something. I’ve seen some cad renderings of things and I swear that they’re photographs of the actual finished product. It’s amazing, the technology.

Patti Tritschler: Definitely. Lots of times when we do the actual 3D renderings – and I was referring more to the sketch up phase where things can still kind of look a little rough in nature, but those 3D renderings now that are developed after we’ve got that schematic design done, you can’t really tell a whole lot difference from when that rendering was done to the final constructed product, which also is two-fold for a designer, because if you showed them something early on in the phase and they match it to that construction, they’re going to remember a detail and maybe call you out on it, so those renderings are that detailed that it can work both ways.

Glenn Haussman: I like that. How has it changed your ability to sell your completed vision to a client?

Patti Tritschler: I really think it actually ends up speeding up the design process in some respects, because people that could be visually challenged, not being able to see 3D or maybe not being able to see color or finishes the way an interior designer’s mind does, it actually allows them to see the space and be able to say, “Ooh, I don’t think I want the placement of that, you know, pop of color there.” So I love how it becomes very interactive in the design process, especially early on in the design concept phase.

Glenn Haussman: You know what I think is really interesting that you brought up is how designers see things that the rest of people don’t and I’m definitely in the not seeing kind of department. I wonder when I go into, you know, into a space, like a hotel room or a lobby or whatever, how much I’m missing and, you know, how much those little details really play into creating the overall vibe of the place without me necessarily visualizing everything in that space.

Patti Tritschler: Well, definitely, I think designers, you know, once you become into the world of design you never look at space the same, you know? I’ll find myself going into, you know, a guest room and I’ll be kneeling on the floor, going underneath, and looking at the tag on the chair to see, “Ooh, where is this chair from?” So I do feel that the details that a designer brings to, whether it’s a guest room or the public space, a lot of those fine details might not be something that, you know, the average person might be able to call out, but at the end of the day, the entire space, it’s all those details that brings that continuity and makes that guest experience feel like, “Wow! I feel like I’m a part of this space.”

Glenn Haussman: Yeah and it’s funny – it’s funny, because you may not necessarily notice specific elements in a room, but if they weren’t there then you’d probably see their absence, right?

Patti Tritschler: Definitely. True. Very true.

Glenn Haussman: So you got yourself a tough job here creating the concierge lounge at HI Connect® Design 2013, April 10-12 at the Nashville Gaylord. Because, I think that the concierge lounge right now is the next big, hot button trend that’s going on right now. We recently read – we recently wrote an article in Hotel Interactive® about how these things seem to be exploding to create really exclusive guests for a certain subset of the hotel clientele. What are you seeing with concierge lounges?

Patti Tritschler: Well, definitely, before we began the challenge of designing the concierge lounge for HI Connect®, which is still in that secretive stage, we went downtown into Chicago, since we are so close in proximity to be able to view different flags and what the four and five-star level hotels were offering to their guests and you’re absolutely right. It is exploding. There are areas where there’s not enough space. The guests that are taking up on the offer of that concierge lounge find themselves going in, you know, to have that, you know, mid-afternoon break, that drink, to be able to sit down in different parts of that concierge lounge and be able to plug in, maybe just have a cup of coffee, watch TV. So how do we create those little niches of comfort zones for people to be able to come in and be able to be interactive in this space and they’re no longer sitting in their guest room, but they’re going to this lounge where they feel special and that the hotel is also rolling out the red carpet, offering concierge services that normally might be offered in the lobby area up in the concierge lounge.

Glenn Haussman: Right. And I think one of the cool things about a concierge lounge is it’s quiet. It’s away from that public hub-bub of the lobby and if you’re an executive, it’s definitely worth the extra money that they sometimes charge, because you can hold meetings in that space as well. So it’s a good overall environment. So what are some of the critical elements that you think customers are looking for when it comes to the concierge lounge?

Patti Tritschler: Definitely, one of the items that you just mentioned, Glenn, is the limited amount of meeting space that’s being required of hotels. They all have their big meeting rooms, but you know, small groups wanting to come in and have an impromptu meeting, where can they offer those type of meeting spaces? So our concierge lounge; I will sneak a little bit of our design element out there; it’s going to have that element to be able to offer a group, a small group, to be able to come in and have a small conference within the concierge lounge.

Glenn Haussman: What are some of the things that you look for in a concierge lounge, that you think that really exude the feeling of being in a private, out of the way space?

Patti Tritschler: I think it’s those little niched areas where, you know, I don’t maybe want to sit on a sofa with three other people when I’m visiting the concierge lounge, so offering me different types of seating options, places to sit, pop up the iPad or be able to charge the phone, maybe just be able to put the ear buds in and be able to just cool out in there. So where – how do we create those small, intimate groups of furniture that sets areas up for guests to be able to experience that privacy time, but then also, if it is a group that’s traveling, maybe it’s, you know, three or four people from a company that allows, you know, a grouping of maybe three or four chairs and they can conference or have impromptu conversations about the day or meeting space and things like that.

If you are interested in participating in this unique and dramatic experience at HI Connect® Design, coming this April 10-12, 2013, please contact us immediately at (631) 424-7755 x150. You may also go to our website for more information and to see the photo gallery of HI Connect® Design 2012, please visit us at HIConnectDesign.com.